Networking
How much upload bandwidth do security cameras need?
The honest answer is: add up the bitrates of the streams that actually leave the building at the same time. Here is how to read those bitrates off your own cameras and turn them into a number, with a worked example.
VuePoint
Cameras recording to an NVR on site use no internet bandwidth at all; that traffic stays on the local network. Upload bandwidth only matters for video that leaves the building: someone viewing remotely, cloud recording, or a monitoring service pulling streams. Generic per-camera figures are guesses. Your cameras already tell you exactly what they send.
Step 1: read the real bitrates
Every IP camera has a video or encoding settings page (often Configuration > Video/Audio, Camera > Encode or Stream settings, depending on brand) showing at least two streams:
- Main stream: full resolution, used for recording and full-screen viewing. Typically several Mbps.
- Sub-stream: low resolution, used for multi-camera grids and phone apps. Typically a few hundred kbps up to about 1 Mbps.
- Bitrate mode: with CBR (constant) the figure is what it sends. With VBR (variable) the figure is a ceiling; scenes with motion, rain, foliage or night-time noise push it toward the ceiling, so plan on the maximum.
- Codec: H.265 typically needs noticeably less bitrate than H.264 for similar image quality, but only if the camera, recorder and viewing app all support it.
Step 2: decide which streams leave the site at once
| Use | What goes upstream |
|---|---|
| Phone app, grid view | One sub-stream per tile on screen |
| Phone or PC, single camera full screen | Usually the main stream (some apps let you choose) |
| Remote playback / clip download | Main stream of the recording, often faster than real time if bandwidth allows |
| Continuous cloud recording | Every recorded stream, all the time |
| Event-based cloud upload or monitoring | Short clips or streams only when events occur, plus live view during an incident |
Step 3: do the arithmetic
- 1
Add up the simultaneous streams
Sum the bitrates of everything in your worst realistic case, for example two people viewing at once during an incident.
- 2
Add headroom
Upload links are shared with everything else on site, and speeds vary through the day. Our working rule is to keep camera traffic to roughly 70 to 80 percent of the measured upload speed at most, never 100 percent.
- 3
Measure your real upload
Run a speed test from a wired computer on the same network, at the busiest time of day. Use the upload figure, not the download figure; many connections have a fraction of the upload that they have download.
- 4
If cloud or cellular, convert to data per month
1 Mbps running continuously is about 450 MB per hour, about 10.8 GB per day, and about 324 GB per 30 days. Multiply by your continuous bitrate.
Worked example
A yard with 8 cameras. Each main stream is configured at 4 Mbps (H.265, VBR ceiling) and each sub-stream at 512 kbps. Recording is to an NVR on site. These settings are an example; use your own.
| Scenario | Calculation | Upload in use | Measured upload to have (with headroom) |
|---|---|---|---|
| One person, 8-tile grid on phone | 8 x 0.512 Mbps | about 4.1 Mbps | about 5 to 6 Mbps |
| One person, one camera full screen | 1 x 4 Mbps | 4 Mbps | about 5 to 6 Mbps |
| Two people, one grid plus one full screen | 4.1 + 4 Mbps | about 8.1 Mbps | about 10 to 12 Mbps |
| Continuous cloud recording of all main streams | 8 x 4 Mbps | 32 Mbps, all day | about 40 to 46 Mbps |
The last row is the one that surprises people: continuously sending eight main streams off site needs a fast, symmetrical connection, and at 32 Mbps it moves roughly 10 TB a month. On a cellular plan that is not workable, which is why remote and solar sites send events and short clips rather than continuous video.
| Bitrate | Per day | Per 30 days |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 Mbps | about 5.4 GB | about 162 GB |
| 1 Mbps | about 10.8 GB | about 324 GB |
| 2 Mbps | about 21.6 GB | about 648 GB |
| 4 Mbps | about 43.2 GB | about 1.3 TB |
| 8 Mbps | about 86.4 GB | about 2.6 TB |
Common questions
- Does recording to the NVR use internet bandwidth?
- No. Cameras-to-NVR traffic stays on the local network. Only viewing, playback, cloud upload or monitoring from outside the building uses the internet connection.
- Why does my bandwidth jump at night?
- Low-light image noise and IR-lit scenes compress poorly, so VBR streams climb toward their ceiling. Plan on the configured maximum, not the daytime figure.
Not sure your connection can carry monitoring?
Send us your camera count and a speed test result, and we'll tell you what would work.